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kkriesel 's review for:
Living with a Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search for the Truth about Everything
by Barbara Ehrenreich
This is the first book in a long time that I couldn't put down until 4am each night. Ehrenrich's writing is clear and guiding, and hilarious when appropriate (though this is relative).
After a traumatic upbringing - my words, not hers, and my aim at the moment is to summarize/generalize - the effects of which manifest in her solipsism, Ehrenreich began to experience unusual disassociational episodes from what most of us consider reality. Whether they were additional effects of the abuse (again, summarizing/generalizing) or experiences of another plane is uncertain. These culminated in what she later refers to as a "mystical experience" largely because there are so few other words for it.
The final 1/4 of the book is a well-studied plea to the reader to approach such "mystical experiences" - which are actually not uncommon (if you're reading this, you've probably had an experience that doesn't line up with the mundane world) - with openness and compassion.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that I thought she switched from the autobiographical section (the first 3/4) to the informative-persuasive section (last 1/4) without either smoothness or a clear divide.
After a traumatic upbringing - my words, not hers, and my aim at the moment is to summarize/generalize - the effects of which manifest in her solipsism, Ehrenreich began to experience unusual disassociational episodes from what most of us consider reality. Whether they were additional effects of the abuse (again, summarizing/generalizing) or experiences of another plane is uncertain. These culminated in what she later refers to as a "mystical experience" largely because there are so few other words for it.
The final 1/4 of the book is a well-studied plea to the reader to approach such "mystical experiences" - which are actually not uncommon (if you're reading this, you've probably had an experience that doesn't line up with the mundane world) - with openness and compassion.
The only reason I didn't give this 5 stars is that I thought she switched from the autobiographical section (the first 3/4) to the informative-persuasive section (last 1/4) without either smoothness or a clear divide.